Your Eyes The Colour Of Rainclouds
by FronkIero
Summary: Set in the next generation of Harry Potter. Albus Potter is completely and utterly in love with Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy is completely in love with Albus Potter, but can their seemingly perfect relationship be salvaged from the mistakes they made? AlbusxScorpius AlbusxLysander ScorpuosxRose
1. Chapter 1

'"_Potter, Albus." Professer Hodge called from the list of students, and Albus swallowed nervously, as he walked slowly up to the stool. He sat down carefully and felt Professor Hodge place the Sorting Hat on his head. Out of habit, he bit his lip as he waited, looking out at the Great Hall. He could see his brother James looking up at him smiling hopefully from the Gryffindor table._

"_Hmmm…" He heard the Sorting Hat say, his voice as old and worn as he was himself, "Brains of gold….yet a brave heart, where to put you?" _

_The sorting hat drew out the last word for a minute, making various noises of deliberation before it loudly declared its choice._

"_Must be a Ravenclaw!" The hat bellowed, and cheers erupted from the table nearest to Albus' right, just beside Slytherin. _

_Albus smiled as he walked down, taking a seat half way along the table, as his fellow housemates patted him on the back. His smile grew into a beaming grin, and he turned in his seat watching the next First Year taking their seat on the stool._

_This boy was obviously a Malfoy, with his pale, smooth skin and his pale blonde hair. Albus was about to look away, knowing that all Malfoy's got sorted in to Slytherin, but stopped when the Sorting Hat shouted 'Ravenclaw!'. _

_A series of shocked gasps echoed around the huge hall, and the Malfoy stood up numbly, walking as if in slow motion down to the Ravenclaw table. The hall was deadly silent, everyone having in their shock, forgotten to clap._

_Albus heard someone hiss "That's Scorpios Malfoy. No Malfoy was ever __not __in Slytherin. This is unheard of."_

_Scorpios took a seat across the table from Albus, sitting down stiffly. Albus heard him mutter 'Ravenclaw' in disbelief._

"_Hello, I'm Albus Potter." Albus introduced himself, reaching his hand across the table._

_The boy stared wide-eyed at his hand for a second, before he reached forward and took Albus' hand in his own, shaking it formally. _

_Albus took a good look at the boy. His hair was immaculate, a simple short back and sides, yet he had let his fringe grow a bit longer than the rest of his hair, enough for it to just brush his pale eyes, the colour of rainclouds. His face was quite angular, his cheekbones and jawline prominent. _

"_I'm Scorpios Malfoy, pleased to meet you." '_

Albus awoke with a jolt, his eyes peering into the darkness. He winced, that memory hadn't been the best to dream about, given the current….situation. He sighed, rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand.

He had fallen asleep in the Common Room again, the book he had been reading carelessly disregarded on the midnight blue carpet.

Fumbling in the pockets of his robes, he found his wand and took it out.

"_Lumos." _He muttered, and the end of his wand lit up like a torch, allowing him to see in front of him. He stretched, and stood up slowly, picking his book of the floor, closing it and placing it on armchair he had been sleeping on.

His bones creaked as he shuffled around, protesting against the two weeks that he had spent sleeping in the Common Room instead of the Dormitories. It was simple really, he went to class, ate his meals and spent the rest of the day alone walking in the grounds or reading in the Common Room. Anything to avoid…him.

He walked over to one of the windows, and took a seat in one of the deep window-stills. Drawing his knees up under his chin, he exhaled coughing out a tearless choke.

His brain snapshotted an image of Scorpios sitting across from him at the Ravenclaw table in the Great Hall. There were only First Years back then, Scorpios' eyes were a light grey, not the stormy almost black they were now. His face was almost smiling, and achievement in itself for a Malfoy, his hair perfectly kept, unlike it was nowadays. Three years had passed since then, and an awful lot had changed.

Even after everything that had happened, Albus missed Scorpios so much his heart ached. He wanted, more than anything, to just hold the boy close, and bury his head in his soft blonde hair, simply holding him. He wanted it so much, that he could feel his arms twitching.

He rested his head on his knees, staring blankly out of the window into the night.

"_Nox." _He muttered, and the light of his wand extinguished leaving him in total darkness again.

XXX

The next time Albus woke up, he could hear the sounds of raindrops hitting the window panes, and people shuffling around upstairs. They would be down in a minute, and he would make sure he was long gone.

Shuffling onto the ground, he straightened up and heard his bones creak. He still felt absolutely exhausted, but he knew he couldn't exactly go back to sleep.

Knowing the rest of his housemates would be down any minute, he picked his discarded wand from the window-still and left the Common Room. Shuffling along, the almost empty hallways, Albus kept his head ducked, letting his chestnut coloured hair fall in front of his face, like a shield.

He walked down stairway after stairway before he reached the almost deserted Great Hall. There were only around a dozen students in total in the entire hall, which Albus was relieved of. Fewer students meant less questions and glares.

Taking a seat at the same section of the Ravenclaw table which he had sat at since that very first night, he sat down only momentarily long enough to grab a bread roll, and shove it in the deep pockets of his robes. He grabbed a goblet of pumpkin juice and sipped it, swirling the sweet liquid around his mouth before swallowing it.

He took another gulp of the orange juice in his goblet, just as he heard a familiar voice call him.

"Al?"

He looked up and locked eyes with his older brother James. James was a Gryffindor and was just one year older than Albus, but James made it seem like decades.

"James." Albus answered in a monotone.

"Where on earth have you been?" James spurted, leaning on the table. "I heard that you aren't talking to Malfoy…or anyone for that matter."

James had never seen his brother in such a state, his chestnut coloured hair was dishevelled, and his face was pale and drawn, the dark circles under his eyes painfully visible. His eyes were bloodshot and distant looking. Everything about Albus looked like pain and vulnerability and loneliness.

James punched his hand in to the bench, resisting the urge to march right up to Ravenclaw tower and '_Avada Kadavra' _Scorpios Malfoy for doing this to his brother.

"I don't want to talk about it." Albus answered in a flat voice, devoid of all emotion. James was just about to reach across the bench and shake the happiness back into his brother, when Albus got up silently and left, shuffling along the hard stone floor, and disappearing out the doors.

James searched for the reason why his brother would leave so quickly, and noticed a tall, platinum blonde, dashingly handsome boy sit down at the bench.

_Malfoy._

He took a sharp intake of breath in an effort to calm himself, feeling his hand twitch towards his pocket in which he kept his wand.

"Hey, Malfoy?" He found himself calling. The blonde boys head snapped up instantly, and James noticed that he too had dark circles under his grey eyes, which stood out hugely against his pale skin.

"I hope you're happy." James hissed, and he left to turn away, when a flood of rage overcame him and he spun back around, reaching across the table and punching Scorpios.

James heard a satisfying crack as the blonde boy's jaw broke. James looked at Malfoy, blood dripping from his split lip and a purple bruise blossoming on his jaw and felt a little pathetic.

Punching Scorpios wouldn't make Albus happy, hell he'd be lucky if Albus wasn't furious.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER, WHAT ON EARTH IS GOING ON HERE?" He heard someone bellow and turned to see Professor Knockridge, her pale blue eyes fixed in a steady glare on him. James noticed a few of the other students' inch away carefully. For an old lady, Prof. Knockridge was extremely intimidating.

"He deserved it." James declared, trying to be confident but sounding like a little child who just got caught.

"I do not care for stories Mr Potter, only actions and judging by your actions you can look forward to a week of detention. As for you Mr Malfoy, I think you need a visit to the Hospital Wing."

With that Professor Knockridge turned to leave, her emerald robes sweeping the ground after her, leaving the two boys in shocked silence.

She turned back after she had walked a few feet away.

"Oh, and another thing Mr. Potter, If I see you assault one of my students again, your place on the Quidditch team will be revoked."

James stood open-mouthed after the Professor as she stalked off. He lived for Quidditch, and no Malfoy was worth that.

"I'm not happy." He heard Scorpios mumble, doing the best he could with his broken jaw.

"What?" James asked, turning around to face the boy again.

"Your brother is the one that hurt me."

With that, Scorpios stood up, his hand to his jaw. Two other boys stood up too, and together they all walked away, heading for the Hospital Wing.

James stood there, his knuckles still splattered in scarlet, deeply confused and desperate for answers. Why would his brother hurt someone he loved so much? James had seen the way the two boys looked at each other.

Things just didn't add up.


	2. Chapter 2

Albus hurried along the pathway, tripping several times over the un-even cobbles. He was headed for the small hut at the base of the hill. White puffs of smoke leaving the chimney at regular intervals let him know that the occupant was home.

Taking deep breaths of the fresh outdoor air in an effort to calm himself, he somehow managed to keep his tears at bay. He had no idea why he was crying. Just seeing Scorpios there for the first time in two weeks…it had felt like he was being strangled, gasping for air as his mind fogged over.

In his last few stumbles he managed to kick up a few wild flowers, leaving a trail of bright yellow petals behind him as he reached the hut and knocked on the door with the huge, rusted knocker.

Albus heard the noise of things being knocked about inside the hut, before the door was thrown open and a tall, thin man only a few years older than Albus appeared in the doorway, smiling broadly. The man had bright teal-coloured hair, and emerald coloured eyes that sparkled when he laughed. His face and hands were weather worn from working on the grounds in all weather. He had the warmest most sincere smile that Albus had yet come across. Teddy Lupin was loved instantly by everyone he encountered.

"Teddy." Albus exhaled breaking into a smile.

"Albus Potter." Teddy leaned against the door frame, smirking happily, "It's been a while since you've visited."

Albus watched the smirk slip from Teddy's face as his gaze grazed over Albus' dishevelled appearance.

"What on earth happened to you?" Teddy cried, his eyes widening. "You look practically homeless!"

"Can we talk inside?" Albus asked quietly nibbling on his lip as he eyed the group of Ravenclaws making their way down the path.

"Of course." Teddy answered without question, and straightened up, letting Albus into the hut.

Albus walked through the rather large doorway and into the hut. He loved Teddy's hut, especially on cold rainy days like today. With the fire blazing away in the grate, the hut however small was always warm and welcoming. It was over-furnished with all sorts of heavy looking furniture and over-stuffed armchairs. Albus couldn't imagine how Teddy moved around the place. He took a seat at one of the stools around the heavy wooden table, feeling his legs being warmed by the nearby flames.

"Tea? Bread?" Teddy asked as he closed the door back over again. Albus' stomach grumbled and Teddy chuckled.

"I'll take that as a yes then."

Teddy bustled around the hut, banging things and kicking over an empty bucket with a metallic clang. He kicked the bucket out of the way, and carried on filling the tea-pot with water.

A few more minutes of banging and crashing around lasted before Teddy plonked a chipped mug full of milky tea in front of Albus, some of the liquid spilling over the cup and leaving stains on the table. He then sliced off a lump of still warm bread and spread butter on it, passing that to Albus too.

Albus muttered his thanks before ripping off a chunk of bread and eating it. Teddy always baked his own bread from scratch, refusing to use magical methods for his mundane tasks. He often said that it was a waste of magic, using it to brew tea and sweep floors. Magic was important to Teddy.

There was something about Teddy's hut that made Albus instantly brighten up a little. He even smiled genuinely as Teddy cracked a joke, making him choke on his tea, spilling some on his robes.

"Are you not going to Hogsmeade, with the rest?" Teddy asked Albus after a minute or so of silent eating.

"I don't think I'd be wanted." Albus answered, feeling his eyes glaze over again and his stomach twist a little.

"Wanted? You used to always go with that Malfoy boy."

Albus felt his shoulders crumble in on himself at the name. This was getting ridiculous.

"I don't think he'd want me with him." He answered his voice raspy all of a sudden.

"Why not?"

"It's a long story."

"Well it's a Sunday morning, I'm hardly going anywhere."

Albus took a deep breath, looking up at the man sitting across from him, looking into his sparkling green eyes, the same colour of his own. Just as Albus looked into them the colour darkened before lightening and turning exactly the same colour that Scorpios' eyes were when he was happy, the colour of rainclouds, a soft grey.

Albus felt his eyes widen in shock but he blinked and Teddy's eyes were back to the same emerald as usual.

"Did you just….?" Albus spluttered.

"Yes I did. Your reaction was interesting." Teddy cocked his head to the side, studying Albus. Teddy had known that Teddy was a metamorphmagus, but had never personally witnessed Teddy changing his appearance.

"I cheated on him. I cheated on Scorpios okay!" Albus declared, realising that he had never said it out loud.

Albus blinked, his eye vision blurring with tears. He knew that he had so much more to say, but he couldn't. Every word was a reminder of how stupid he had been.

"At least you admit it." Teddy answered, "Now you need to win him back."

"Why would he go back to me?" Albus asked, shaking his head sadly, "He hates me."

Teddy suddenly burst into laughter, surprising Albus.

"Scorpios Malfoy hates you?" Teddy asked, still chuckling, "He's far from hating you, he's in love with you. One hundred percent in love with you, as you are with him."

Albus felt a funny warm feeling deep in his chest when Teddy said that, and instantly his brain conjured up a memory.

"_Look I can see my breath!" Albus heard Scorpios yell in excitement, turning to him and breathing a puff of white right into his face._

_Albus laughed gleefully, rolling his eyes at the antics of his boyfriend. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Scorpios was fourteen, sometimes he acted like he was eight._

_Albus slipped his hand in to Scorpios' and the two boys huddled for warmth. The Scottish winter was harsh and a record amount of snow had fallen in the last few days, blanketing the grounds and the castle in pure, brilliant white and cancelling Quidditch._

_Of course, Scorpios was the only one who was disgruntled by the Quidditch being cancelled. He was the Ravenclaw Chaser and prided himself on the position, a pride that Albus shared whenever he watched Scorpios play in a match._

_Albus suddenly felt himself being dragged down onto the cold, soft snow and a startled gasp left his throat._

_Scorpios lay on top of him, his soft blonde hair, brushing Albus' face ever so gently. Albus looked in to Scorpios' kind light grey eyes, and smiled, brushing his blonde hair out of his face. _

_An idea crossed his mind and he smirked, out stretching his gloved hand and digging his fingers in to the snow, squeezing it into a snowball. _

_He then, keeping the snowball in his hand at the side, reached up and kissing Scorpios gently, distracting him long enough for him to shove the snow down the back of his robes._

_Scorpios squealed, jumping to his feet and Albus laughed pushing himself to his feet too._

"_Potter, prepare for death!" Scorpios shouted, grabbing snow and flinging it at Albus, missing most of the time._

_Albus retaliated ducking behind a tree stump and firing snowballs back at the blonde boy. _

"_Not if I get you first!" Albus answered, right before he got hit in the face by a snowball. He wiped the white slush off his face frantically, feeling himself be pelted by several other freezing cold bullets of snow._

"_SURRENDER!" He heard Scorpios cry, as he tackled him to the snow. _

"_I surrender!" He declared, feeling the wind be knocked out of him. Scorpios was much stronger than Albus, after many hours on the Quidditch pitch._

_Scorpios sat back, still straddling Albus' waist. He smiled genuinely, squeezing Albus' hand. Albus couldn't help but smile back, feeling his heart warm a little._

_Scorpios muttered something under his breath that Albus didn't quite catch._

"_Sorry, what was that?" Albus asked, absent-mindedly tracing the barely visible veins in Scorpios' wrist._

_The blonde boy's cheeks suddenly took on a pink tint, and he ducked his head, resting his forehead against Albus' chest._

"_N-nothing." Scorpios stammered, and Albus saw the top of his ears turn pink._

"_Tell me." Albus begged, drawing out the last syllable and pouting._

_Scorpios mumbled something into Albus' robes._

"_Hm?" Albus said, wrapping his arms tighter around Scorpios, feeling the cold breeze blow over them._

"_I said I love you." Scorpios said louder, and Albus watched as his cheeks flushed darker._

"_I love you too, Scorpios." Albus choked out, feeling warm even in the Artic weather. He grabbed the other boy's blue and bronze tie and pulled him down to him, kissing him softly on his cold lips._

Albus blinked, and found himself in Teddy's hut. Teddy himself was looking at him from across the table with an amused expression.

"Daydream?" He asked, leaning forward on his elbow.

"More like…a memory."

Albus felt hollow now, remembering such a happy time didn't do him any good. Why had he been so stupid to go and cheat on the one person outside his family that he had ever loved from the bottom of his heart, and who had in turn loved him. He was an idiot.

"I-I better be going." Albus muttered, stumbling to his feet.

Teddy followed him to the door without a word. The only sound was the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting off the window and the shuffles of their feet.

Albus unlatched the door and turned thanking Teddy for the tea.

"Oh, Albus." Teddy called, just before Albus could leave, "I know what it feels like…to be alone. Please call over whenever you like. I'll always be here to welcome you, and I know how good it feels to have someone who cares."

"Thank you Teddy." Albus answered sincerely, feeling tears well up in his eyes. He didn't deserve people as nice as Teddy.

He stepped out into the rain, letting the door click closed behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Albus had always felt a certain affinity for the Astronomy Tower in Hogwarts. As he sat, knees drawn up around his chin, inches away from where the floor stopped, he somehow felt calm.

The rain had eased off to a gentle mist over the few hours that he had spent in the library and the grounds were covered in a soft fog, blurring everything. Somehow, this just added to the sense of peace he felt up here, away from all distraction and students that he didn't particularly want to interact with.

Maybe it was that the two people he was named after had such an intense interaction up here in the tower that drew him here. This was the place where Severus Snape killed Albus Dumbledore. After reading about the events of that night, he could imagine it clearly in his mind. This bearded man falling and tumbling through the night air and landing with a thump on the ground hundreds of feet below, a man dressed all in black with long black hair standing at the edge watching him fall.

He was just getting lost in his thoughts when he heard a gentle coo and a small thump as a small, white dove landed on the marble floor beside him. The bird began to gently peck on his fingers, drawing his attention to a note attached to its leg. There was only person who Albus knew that sent notes through a dove, preferring them to owls.

He opened the note, un-folding it and instantly recognised the cursive script. His mouth dried up instantly, and he felt a bit funny as he began to read it.

'Albus,

We need to talk.

I'm sorry,

Lysander.'

He licked his lips, and fished for a quill in his pocket. It was quite handy having one of those new quills that didn't require constantly carrying around a pot of ink to write with. Realising, that he had no parchment with him, he scrawled his reply in the space left on the original note.

'Don't be. Where do you want to talk? –Albus '

He folded up the note, and attached it to the dove's leg. He watched as the bird instantly flew off again. He watched the bird swoop and turn, heading for Ravenclaw Tower, before it got swallowed by the fog.

Closing his eyes, Albus took a few deep breaths of the cold air. He remembered how Lysander used to send him notes every day by dove. He remembered how each and every one always had a heart scrawled somewhere on the parchment.

Thinking about how much Lysander had cared for him made him feel worse, a terrible guilt creeping its way into the pit of his stomach. Lysander had confessed that he had had a crush on Albus since first year, and Albus had abused that.

True, he had feelings for Lysander that he couldn't explain. Feelings that made his heart leap a little whenever he saw Lysander's dove, Xeno, heading his way to deliver a note. Feelings that made him want Lysander's kiss and his touch just as much as Lysander wanted his. But he couldn't deny that the feelings that held him to Scorpios were a lot stronger.

With Scorpios he felt like he was hollow if he wasn't near the boy with the blonde hair, he felt this incredible force pulling him to Scorpios, making his skin tingle whenever he touched him, and his heart jump up and down whenever he smiled.

The dove reappeared and Albus sighed, he really, really needed to get his priorities straight.

'Meet me in the Room of Requirement in 10 minutes.

Lysander '

Albus stood up, shoving the note into the pocket of his robes and grabbing the dove, cradling it against his chest. He picked up his Invisibility Cloak, given to him by his father and threw it over himself, instantly hiding himself from sight.

He didn't really see why he bothered with the cloak; lately he was invisible to everyone anyway. He was silent as he moved through the halls of students, most heading for dinner in the Great Hall. Xeno pecked at his fingers as he walked, making him hiss in pain a few times.

Finally, he reached the place in the wall where the door to the Room of Requirement normally appeared.

'I want to meet up with Lysander.' He thought, as he walked past three times.

A door appeared out of the wall almost instantly, slowly melting out of the wall and turning solid. Albus took a deep breath, and pulled the door open.

He stepped into a small room, lit in low light, and decked out in sofas and armchairs and a rug on the floor. He let the Invisibility Cloak fall to the floor when he saw him. Lysander was perched on the edge of the sofa, smiling at him, his honey coloured curls matched perfectly with his sky blue eyes. He looked happy, yet when Albus walked closer, he could see that his eyes were bloodshot and tired.

"Have you not slept?" Albus asked, taking a seat gingerly on the other side of the sofa.

"I could ask the same to you." Lysander asked, smiling weakly, "Here Xeno." He beckoned.

Albus released the dove which flew to Lysander and landed on his shoulder, staying perched there cooing happily.

"I hope she didn't give you any trouble." Lysander asked, tilting his head towards the bird.

"Just a few pecks." Albus stuttered, finding it incredibly hard to breath. Last time he had been this close to Lysander…

"What did you want to talk about?" Albus blurted, trying not to think.

"I think you know exactly what we need to talk about." Lysander said, reaching over and putting a hand on Albus' knee. Albus sighed, he knew that Lysander was only trying to be comforting but he couldn't do this.

"Lysander…" Albus warned.

"Sorry." Lysander said, retracting back to the very edge of the sofa, hands held up in the air. "But I'm confused Albus, what do you want from me?"

Albus bit his lip, looking at the boy sitting across from him, his eyes looking into his. Lysander looked tired and confused but Albus could still see it…affection buried deep in those blue orbs.

"I honestly don't know." He admitted.

"Do you love me?" Lysander's voice was shaking, and low. It seemed like he was trying to keep his voice calm, "Do you? Or was this just a lie?"

"Please Ly…" Albus begged.

"Answer me Potter." Lysander spat, his voice dangerously low yet still he didn't seem angry more desperate, begging almost.

Albus shifted slightly and got to his feet.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, making for the door, but the older boy was stronger and faster, catching Albus and spinning him around so he was backed up against the wall, Lysander standing in front of him. Their faces were mere inches away from each other.

"I don't love you." Albus finally answered and a sense of gravity with the words. He looked into Lysander's eyes as he said it, seeing some of the light extinguish. Lysander dropped his hold on Albus' arms instantly.

Albus slid sideways so he was in front of the door.

"Oh, Albus?" Lysander said, his voice almost cracking, "You'll find Scorpios in the Hospital Wing, your brother put him there earlier."

"Thank you Lysander, for everything." Albus said, smiling sincerely at the boy who had lit up his life for the past few months.

"Good luck." Lysander said, Xeno cooing a bit more loudly on his shoulder.

Albus closed the door, pulling his cloak around him and set off for the Hospital Wing.

Five minutes later, he stood back against the wall, breathing in and out in an effort to calm himself, which he knew would be lost as soon as he saw Scorpios again.

'Man up, Albus.' He whispered to himself. When his dad was his age he won the Tri-Wizard Tournament, and he couldn't even deal with a bad break up? Pathetic.

There was a lot to live up to, being Harry Potter's son. James had already achieved so much, Outstanding in almost all of his O.W.L.S, Gryffindor Quidditch Chaser, top of the class in Potions and not to mention that he had been asked to take the position of Captain after this season of Quidditch.

What had Albus done? He hadn't been sorted into Gryffindor, he didn't play Quidditch, and he had ruined both his relationships with Scorpios and Lysander. His only hope was that he would do well in his O.W.L.S next year, a testament to Ravenclaw house.

That and fixing his relationship with Scorpios, which, at this moment seemed more difficult than the O.W.L.S.

He took another deep breath and pushed the door of the Hospital wing open as quietly as possible, and slipping into the room, closing the door with a gentle creak behind him. Almost all of the beds in the room were empty except one bed, right down the end, near the chair on which the night nurse was fast asleep.

As he neared the bed, his breath caught in his throat, making a funny noise. Sure enough, Scorpios Malfoy lay in the cast-iron hospital like bed, fast asleep. Albus took the time to look over every inch of his appearance, from his once neat, now out-grown and scruffy platinum blonde hair, the dark circles under his eyes, the way his face seemed paler than usual, more sharp and drawn even in his sleep, the purple bruise blossoming on his jaw-line, contrasting hugely with the pale ivory of the skin around it, his lips which still had some dried blood on them and his chest, plainly visible with the duvet just up to his waist was smooth and defined, not overly muscly but he definitely had the physic of a Quidditch player.

He sat down on the bed beside his with a small creak, pulling the Invisibility Cloak off, not caring if the nurse woke up and saw him.

He noticed that a piece of plain parchment lay on the bed he was sitting on, and ripped off a piece, taking out his quill.

He bit his lip as he thought of what to write, what could mend everything he had done, what would win him Scorpios back. After a minute of deliberating he decided to keep it short.

'Sorry.' He scrawled on the parchment, the ink smudging a little. He stood up, cursing himself when the bed gave out a loud creak and the nurse jerked. He pulled his Cloak back on, just in time as her eyes opened sleepily, glancing around the room, and closed again, falling asleep again.

He was about to place the parchment on Scorpios' pillow, when he saw another note, longer than his and in handwriting he vaguely recognised. Picking up it curiously, he read the note.

'Scorpios,

Get better soon. I love you.

Hugs and kisses,

Rose xx '

Albus froze, his blood running cold. He looked over at Scorpios, who rolled onto his side, and Albus could see a lipstick mark on his other cheek, slightly smudged from the pillow, he could still tell that it was where he had been kissed on the cheek. His cousin Rose was one of the only people he confided in about being gay, about his relatively secret relationship with Scorpios. He thought he could have trusted her.

He crumbled up his note in his hand, and shoved it in his pocket, running out of the room, not caring that his Cloak was slipping now and then. He just needed to get out.

He barely closed the door beside him before bursting into tears.


	4. Chapter 4

Scorpius awoke with a jolt, blinking to clear his vision.

"Oh good, you're awake." He heard a woman's voice cry, and he heard the sound of shuffling footsteps.

A short, plump woman with long, ragged dark blonde hair rushed over to him, the tray of bottles she was carrying shook and jingled as she walked, a few purple drops spilling down the side of one. Madame Abernathy was the chief Healer in Hogwarts, and a motherly figure to most of the students.

"How are we doing today, Mr Malfoy?" Madame Abernathy asked, a soft smile tugging at her kind face. Madame Abernathy was what could only be described as jolly and took delight in the most mundane things, this made a stay in the Hospital wing not as horrifying as it could be, which Scorpius knew well, having been put in the Hospital wing more times than he could count from rough games of Quidditch.

She carefully tilted Scorpios' head to the side, so she could get a closer look at his jaw.

"Well, it seems that the potion did the trick. You're free to go poppins." She gushed, smiling warmly at him before shuffling off again, her bottles jingling once more.

Scorpius slipped out of bed, standing up slowly, rubbing his now repaired jaw. Yawning, he pulled on his Ravenclaw robes, and went to pick up his tie when he noticed a crumbled, yellowing piece of parchment on the ground.

He bent down and picked it up, unfolding it and smoothing out the creases. Recognising the handwriting instantly, his mouth dried up as he read.

'Sorry.' was scrawled on the paper.

One word was enough to make Scorpius' stomach lurch. The one thing he couldn't understand was why was the note from Albus on the ground, crumbled up into a ball?

Picking up his tie with his other hand, he subconsciously folded up the parchment neatly and dropped it into his wand pocket. Stopping in the process of tying his tie, he noticed another note, this one was not crumbled and instead it sat on his bedside table.

'Scorpios,

Get better soon. I love you.

Hugs and kisses,

Rose xx '

He smiled as he read it. It was surprising really, you wouldn't expect a Malfoy to be best friends with a Weasley, but Rose Weasley had become the person who he was closed to out of everyone he knew, even his father...and Albus as of late.

She was always there to listen to him and cheer him up, especially lately since his disagreement with Albus. They had spent many a day in the Library or laying out under the hawthorn tree near the lake.

Suddenly, it clicked in his head. Albus must have read the note and got the wrong idea, and dropped his own note on the ground. His heart twisted a little.

However much he denied it, he missed Albus. He missed his unruly hair that was never tidy; he missed how his eyes would light up when he saw him, bringing out the brilliant green. He missed his carefree laugh and his shy, vulnerability. He practically craved Potter.

But deep in his mind, past all the rose-tinted memories, another bitter memory bit away at him, keeping him awake at night with tears wetting his eyes. The image of his Albus, wrapped around the Scamander boy, shirts carelessly discarded on the grass…he winced. That wasn't a nice memory to remember.

Lately he had seemed weak, and it annoyed him. It annoyed him that he could be reduced to this depressed shadow of his former self, by some boy who he happened to be in love with.

Sighing, Scorpios fixed his tie, determined to shake his thoughts as he made his way out of the Hospital wing, thanking Madame Abernathy as he passed.

It was a typically cold winter Monday, the drizzle of yesterday having turned into a full downpour, judging by the noise the droplets of water made on the windows he passed on his way to class. Defence against the Dark Arts was his first class this morning, and he was determined not to be late for once.

As he rushed along the bustling hallways, he tried not to get absorbed in his thoughts again. If he did, and the staircases moved, god knows where he would end up.

After around five minutes of navigating through the throngs of students, Scorpius finally reached the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom, and pushed the door open.

The classroom was already nearly full of students, all Ravenclaw Fourth Years. Some sat on tables talking among themselves, some sat engrossed in a book at their desk and some scribbled idly on parchment. Scorpius took a seat in the front row of desks, and leaned back in his chair waiting for Professor Hodge to arrive.

After around a minute or so, the door was thrown open again and a tall, wiry man strolled in to the classroom. He leaned against the desk looking at them all with purple, sparking eyes. His hair, the colour of fresh snow, fell down to his shoulders.

"Good Morning class." He called, discretely commanding attention from the class, who slipped back silently to their seats, "Today we will be studying and practising the Stunning Spell."

Prof. Hodge had just finished speaking, when the door creaked open, and Albus Potter walked in to the room, holding on to the door handle tightly.

"Oh, look, we have a late-comer. Good morning Mr Potter. Don't bother taking a seat; you can volunteer to demonstrate the Stunning Spell with me." Professor Hodge grabbed Albus and pushed him to the front of the room.

"Now then, the Stunning Spell is if you like the foundation of a wizard's arsenal. To perform the spell, the wizard must say the incantation _Stupefy _while swinging or pointing the wand directly at the target. It may be blocked with a Shielding Spell such as _Protego _although if preformed correctly using the element of surprise, the opponent won't have a chance to block it."

Scorpios scribbled down notes as Professor Hodge spoke, half listening and half staring at Albus who stood over the other side of the class room, looking somewhat scared.

"Now then Mr Potter, I will strike first and you will try and block my Stunning Spell. Ready?"

Albus nodded stiffly, hand tightening around his outstretched wand. He looked like a rabbit caught in headlights.

"Good. " Professor Hodge smiled, drawing his own wand, and taking stance. "1..2..3.."

"_STUPEFY!" _

"_Pro-PROTEGO!" _

The whole thing happened as if in slow motion, the burst of scarlet leaving Professor Hodge's wand and the moment of hesitation on Albus' part, making him stumble over the spell and not cast his shield quickly enough. Scorpios watched open-mouthed as Albus was knocked flying backwards and landed on the floor with a thump.

He found himself on his feet before he could stop himself, and promptly turned red when Albus sat up unharmed. Feeling like a fool, he sat back down again, cheeks still burning. He stole a glance across the room and caught Roses' eye who smiled knowingly at him, making his cheeks flush even more. He looked back at Albus who was looking between him and Rose, and fixing Scorpios with such a detached glare that he felt physically hurt.

"As Mr Potter has demonstrated wonderfully, if the Shielding Spell is not cast efficiently, your opponent will be thrown back off their feet, not harming them fatally but giving you a few seconds to work with." He walked over to where Albus sat, and held out his hand, which Albus took gratefully, the Professor pulling him to his feet. "Now, I would like you all to break in to pairs and practise both spells. Mr Malfoy you can pair with Mr Potter here."

Scorpius felt his heart leap in to his mouth. It had been two whole weeks since he had so much as said a word to Albus, and him likewise. This wasn't exactly an ideal confrontation.

Scorpius got to his feet shakily and walked over in position. He glanced once around the classroom now all separated in to two rows, facing each other.

"The student on the left shall attack, the right defend yourself firstly, and then you shall swap over. Ready?" Professor Hodge asked and was met with a chorus of agreements. "Begin!"

Shouts of _Stupefy _and _Protego_ could be heard echoing off the walls. Scorpius watched as several students were blown backwards. He looked back to Albus; still waiting for him to attack, but Albus was just standing there, staring right through Scorpius with wide eyes.

"_Stupefy._" Albus finally said his voice low and cracked. Scorpios didn't bother blocking. The feeble attempt at the spell merely blew his hair back like a light breeze would have.

Scorpius gulped, realising that it was his turn to use the spell on Albus. Scorpius' best subject was D.A.D.A. and he was unbelievably good at spells, having been trained by his father. He had never failed to make a spell work efficiently for him, but he wasn't sure he could do it this time.

As his hand tightened around his wand, he stared at the boy in front of him, looking tired and drawn, the dark circles under his eyes particularly defined, yet somehow he still looked beautiful.

Scorpius ground his teeth together, and heard his jaw crack, making him wince in pain.

"_Stupefy._" He called, keeping his voice low, almost un-audible. If he really wanted to, he could have cast it non-verbally but he wanted to give Albus some chance.

Of course, Albus' wand hand didn't move at all, and he didn't even flinch when he was thrown backwards slamming in to the wall with a gasp.

Before Scorpius could stop himself, he was running for Albus, barely keeping hold of his wand. He knelt down beside him and gulped when Albus opened his eyes, rubbing them sleepily. His gaze glanced around the room before it landed on Scorpius, and his eyes shot open wide.

The two boys sat there, Albus leaning against the wall, and Scorpius crouched down on his knees, staring at each other, both completely oblivious to the duelling still going on around them.

Scorpius found himself digging out Albus' note from his pocket. Albus watched him with and unreadable expression as he unfolded it and placed it in Albus' hand.

"I'm the one who should be sorry." He managed to croak, surprising himself by even being able to speak.

Albus looked from the note in his hand to Scorpius' face for a minute, before he dropped his gaze, fiddling with the ends of his sleeves.

Scorpius bit down on his lip hard, resisting the urge to grab Albus' face and kiss him. Albus gulped, his Adam 's apple bobbing up and down in his throat and looked back up at Scorpius.

"To hell with it." Scorpius muttered, leaning down to kiss Albus. Their lips barely brushed when he heard Professor Hodge yell,

"Alright, class is over. Good work everyone." He declared, and slowly everyone filed out. The two boys stayed dangerously close for a second, breathing heavily before Albus pulled away, shimming sideways and stumbling to his feet, leaving without a word or even a glance behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

Scorpius spent the rest of the day fiddling with quills, and gazing out of the windows or fixing his tie. No matter how hard he tried to concentrate on his studies, his brain seemed to have wandered off on holidays. He had been down-right foolish to think that he could have made up with Albus by kissing him and in the middle of class too!

Even when he and Albus were on good terms, Albus was never one for public displays of affection. He couldn't help it though, seeing him properly for the first time in so long…

Scorpius found it incredibly hard to sleep that night, as he tossed and turned in his bed in the Ravenclaw dormitories. The heat in the small circular room was practically stifling. Even with his shirt off, he was covered in a light sweat. It made no sense really, for the dormitory to be this warm when it was freezing cold outside, but then again a lot of things in Hogwarts weren't explainable by anything else than simply 'magic'.

He rolled over on to his front, feeling his bed sheets wrap around his legs constricting him. With a groan, he untangled himself and lay there, staring at the mid-night blue ceiling, his eyes burning with tiredness.

Finally, with a sigh he dropped off, too exhausted to even be bothered by the heat anymore.

'_Scorpius lay on his bed, sunlight streaming in through his window; a warm, summery breeze blew through the curtains. _

_It was the hottest August he could remember, and he longed to be outside in the gardens of the manor, playing Quidditch but was forbidden to. The Malfoys would be hosting a dinner party tonight and he, already dressed in his best dress robes was to stay indoors making sure he kept clean. _

_He sighed, throwing his miniature Quaffle in the air and catching it again and again. The Quaffle had been a gift from Albus, his boyfriend, a symbol of his appointment as Ravenclaw team Chaser. It made him smile, turning the small red ball over in his hands, thinking of Albus._

_It felt odd, calling Albus his 'boyfriend'. The word seemed almost foreign on his tongue, it sounded so ordinary, so plain, so boring. Albus was beyond a 'boyfriend', he made Scorpius' stomach jolt every time he saw him, and his heart to flip when he smiled at him and most of all he made the ice thaw. The ice that had held him for as long as he could remember. The ice that was prominent whenever he talked to any of his family, from his Grandfather Lucius, his Grandmother Narcissa, even his Father and Mother. _

_It was the way they all spoke to each other, always clipped ever so polite words that rarely held affection, the way one of his most prominent family traits was the cold, paleness of his skin and his pointed, sharp features. He hated it. He hated being a Malfoy. He held none of the 'pure-blood pride' which his family held so highly._

_He remembered fondly, the week he had spent at the Potters, at the end of July. Of course, he had lied, telling his family that he was visiting a boy who he hardly talked to, a Slytherin under the name of Dmitri, feeling that it would be more appropriate than telling them he was visiting the son of his father's arch-rival Harry Potter. _

_The week at the Potters' had been brilliant. The house, so small and cosy, was nothing like the towering heights of the Manor. His family spoke highly of him, taking the news of his relationship with Albus surprisingly well, spare a few teasing comments from James, Albus' older brother. _

_Suddenly, a noise that sounded like an owl hoot, but sharper, as if the owl was in distress echoed through the house, making Scorpius sit up abruptly, dropping the Quaffle. _

_He determined that the noise seemed to be coming from downstairs, and slowly, not bothering to put his shoes on, he creeped out of his bedroom. The black floorboards of the landing gave a disgruntled groan as he stood on them, but he didn't hang around for long, making his way, slowly down the black mahogany stairway. The stairway twisted, some steps creaked. Thankfully, Scorpius knew which steps creaked and managed to hop over all of them. _

_Finally, he reached the ground-floor and stood listening for a second. Upon hearing a loud, yet muffled screech, he determined that the noise was most definitely an owl, and that it was coming from the direction of his Father's study._

_On tip-toe, Scorpius made his way to the opposite side of the atrium, to where a black door stood ajar, and the sounds of an owl could be distinctly heard from. It was most likely that his owl, Archer had crashed into the window pane, and fell right in to the study. He would need to get the owl out before his father discovered. He went crazy whenever someone was in his study._

_He peered through the opening, feeling his mouth drop open in shock. His father stood facing the window, his back to Scorpius and his fist closed tightly around what at first looked like a brown ball of fluff, but what Scorpius then recognised as an owl, and not just any owl. _

_He felt his heart skip a beat, and his jaw slacken. The owl that his father was holding was none other than Albus' owl, and in his father's hand, he held a piece of parchment, scrawled with all-too familiar hand-writing. _

_The owl seemed then to recognise him, staring at him with mustard coloured eyes, and then began to flap its wings and screech loudly, recognising him as the true receiver of the note. _

_His father's jaw clicked, as it did when he was angry and he drew his wand, pointing it at the wriggling owl, and muttered something that Scorpius could not hear. The owl dropped like a stone on to the hard, marble floor. Did he really just…_

_Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief when the owl's eyes turned to look at him. At least his father did not kill the poor animal. Scorpius' head jerked back up at the sound of crumbling parchment and saw his father tighten his hold around the note, crumbling it in to a ball._

"_Explain yourself, Scorpius' His father said, and the hairs on the back of Scorpius' neck stood up, as his father turned, his face like a stone, a nerve in his jaw twitching._

"_E-explain what, Father?" Scorpius croaked. _

"_You know what, Scorpius. What is this letter?" He held up the crumbled parchment, and Scorpius could just make out the words 'love from Albus' scrawled at the bottom. This was bad, this was very bad._

"_Would this Albus happen to be the Albus who is the son of Harry Potter?" His father asked, advancing on Scopius._

"_Y-yes." _

"_Yes what?" His father snarled._

"_Yes, father." Scorpius answered, retreating against the wall._

_His father was barely an inch away from him now, and Scorpius was having trouble meeting his eyes._

"_You're in romantic relations with a Potter?" He spat, sounding disgusted._

_Scorpius gulped, his mind conjuring up a snap shot of him and Albus, holding hands as they both lay in the sun, beside the lake. It was after the end of year exams and had been one of the happiest moments of his life. _

_Somehow, this filled him with new-found confidence and he somewhere found some nerve._

"_Yes father, I am and there's nothing you could do to stop me." He answered his voice steady and clear with hardly a tremor._

"_Oh. Can't I?" His father answered with a strange glint in his eyes_

_His father turned, drawing his wand and pointed it at the parchment._

"_Incendio." _

_The parchment curled, and was engulfed in orange flames. Scorpius saw the word 'love' before the parchment was completely engulfed in flames._

"_I forbid you to speak to him." His father declared, his deep voice booming. "I will not stand for this disgrace to the Malfoy name."_

"_Why do you hate them?" Scorpius blurted, very aware of his father's iron grip on his forearms, and his face inches from his._

_His father snorted. "Why do I hate them?" He repeated, chuckling darkly, "They are scum, filthy Mud-blood scum, especially the Weasleys."_

_Scorpius stood there, feeling the wall digging uncomfortably into his back as he tried to take in what his father had just said. Never, had he heard his father call someone as foul a name as 'mudblood'._

"_Take that back." He found himself uttering, his voice sounding sinister, like it didn't belong to him. He felt his hands curl in to fists at his side, as white-hot anger boiled in his blood._

"_I beg your pardon?" His father's eyes opened wide, like he couldn't believe what his son was saying._

"_I said, take it back." _

_He gritted his teeth together, when his father let out another chuckle, looking highly amused._

"_You should really go wash Scorpius; I can almost smell the scum off you." His father's lip curled, and he broke into a smirk._

_With that, his father let his hold on Scorpius' arms loosen, before letting go entirely._

_The door of the study burst open suddenly, and Scorpius turned, seeing his mother standing there in the doorway._

"_The dinner guests have arrived, Draco." She gushed, smiling at her husband. Her deep chestnut coloured hair, shone in the light, and it was quite obvious that she had made an effort. She looked utterly breath-taking in her floor-length ivory silken dinner gown. _

"_Of course, seems like I'm just finished her anyway, Astoria." _

_With that, his father stepped away from Scorpius, smirking at him. He fixed his suit jacket, before leaving to follow his wife._

"_Come, Scorpius." He ordered, just as he disappeared through the doorway. _

_Scorpius took a glance at the owl, frozen on the ground, and the pile of blackened ashes on his father's desk. Anger boiled in him again, what if Albus had written something important in that letter, he wouldn't know._

"_Scorpius!" He heard his mother's voice call, and he bit his lip deciding what to do._

_Kneeling down on the ground, he drew his wand from his pocket, and pointed it at Archer, Albus' owl._

'_Finite.' He muttered, and the owl spread its wings, hooting appreciatively at Scorpius for freeing him from his father's curse. He pecked Scorpius' finger affectionately, before attempting to fly off._

_All he managed, however was a hop before he landed on the ground again with a screech that he was sure would alert the adults._

_Scorpius held his breath, freezing in his crouched over position, listening and only released the breath when he heard the gentle drone of voices continuing in the dining room. _

_With a sigh, he looked back to the owl, to see the cause of his distress. It was then that he noticed that Archer's right wing was bent at an awkward angle, meaning that he must have hurt it when he fell like a stone onto the floor._

_Scorpius chewed nervously on his bottom lip. He knew that he would not be able to aid the owl without help, but the only people he knew that were good with animals were Teddy Lupin and Albus' Uncle Charlie, who had worked with dragons in Albania._

_He knew that they both were currently residing at 'The Burrow', the house that the extended Potter-Weasley family spent their school holidays in. His heart ached when he remembered the last time he had visited, and played Quidditch up in the paddock. _

_There was nothing for it. He would have to go to 'The Burrow'. How on earth was he supposed to travel there? It would be a long broom flight and he wasn't of age to Apparate. _

_Archer pecked him again on the hand, and Scorpius turned, to give out to the owl, but stopped. His eyes landed on the black marble fireplace, and also the bucket of powder beside it, which glittered in the sunlight._

"_Archer, you genius." He said, ruffling the owl's feathers as he got to his feet, scooping the owl up close to his chest._

_Floo Powder. He had only travelled by it a handful of times, and wondered what would happen if he ended up in the wrong place? His stomach flipped, as he gulped nervously._

_The sudden sound of horribly familiar pounding footsteps made up his mind for him. He could already imagine his father's reaction when he found him still here, when he was supposed to be at dinner._

_Biting the bullet, he scooped up a handful of the silver powder and threw it into the grate. Instantly an emerald green fire erupted. Scorpius stepped into the flames._

"_The Burrow." He shouted, trying his best to be loud and clear. _

_His last image of Malfoy Manor was one of his father bursting through the door of the study and letting out a yell of rage, before running for the fireplace, but it was too late, Scorpius was spinning._

_The spinning sensation lasted for a minute or so, and just as Scorpius was starting to feel ill, he felt his feet slam onto solid ground, before he fell, landing on the kitchen floor of what he recognised as definitely The Burrow. The whole Weasley-Potter family stared at him from the kitchen table._

_He heard footsteps, and managed to stumble to his feet, just before he was swept into a bone-crushing hug by Albus. _

"_Merlin's beard! Scorpius, what brings you here?" He heard Albus' father, Harry Potter ask as the whole family swarmed Scorpius._

_Scorpius felt Albus tightening his grip on him, putting virtually no space between them. _

"_Uh...It's a long story." He said, with a smile._

"_I've missed you." He heard Albus whisper in his ear._

"_I've missed you to." He answered, giving him a sneaky peck on the cheek.'_

Scorpius woke up with a jolt, feeling a throbbing pain in his head where he had hit it off his headboard in his sleep. Rubbing his eyes, he tried to untangle himself from the sheets, and after a minute of fumbling, he was free.

His mind wandered back to his dream, and his heart soared when he remembered how good his summer holidays were, spending his last month in The Burrow. However, he hadn't talked to his parents since the day he left the Manor, even when they forwarded his trunk and broomstick on, it came with no note. The thought formed a lump in his throat. He definitely wasn't looking forward to the Christmas holidays.

With a sigh, he swung his legs over the side of his four-poster bed and stood up. He glanced around the dormitory. Everyone was asleep, and as usual there was an empty bed lying straight across from his. Albus hadn't slept in the dormitory in weeks.

An all too familiar piece of worn parchment caught his eye, and he made up his mind. He would find where Albus had been hiding, tonight and he would sort out their mess of a relationship, once and for all.

He dressed quickly, throwing on the navy jumper that Albus' grandmother had knitted for him. It was slightly too big and had a large green 'S' on the front. However much Albus and James protested against wearing theirs, Scorpius loved his. It made him feel…part of the family.

He buckled the belt on his jeans and shoved his wand into his pocket, before he grabbed the parchment from his trunk and left as quietly as he could.

One glance around the Common Room told him that it was completely deserted, so frowning he left the common room and stopped in the hallway outside.

He tapped the parchment with his wand, and said. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." And slowly, the parchment came to life, ink spreading from where he had tapped. He didn't have an Invisibility Cloak like Albus, but he did have the Marauder's Map, borrowed from Teddy Lupin.

With the map, he would no doubt find Albus in no time.


	6. Chapter 6 Part One

Albus jerked awake, whacking the back of his head off a rock, with a dull thud. He stifled a yawn, and stretched out his frozen limbs.

He lay on his back, his invisibility cloak having slipped, so that now he was exposed from his chest up. Slowly, he realised that he had fallen asleep out under the old beech tree, and by the pure darkness of the night, he had been asleep for hours. He had left the castle as soon as he could, after his uncomfortable experience in Defence against the Dark Arts. He had been so close to grabbing Scorpius by the tie and kissing him with all his might.

Glancing up at the castle, his eyes travelled up the dusty other walls all the way up to Ravenclaw tower, where he ought to be asleep in his warm four poster right now. He could almost feel the warmth of the sheets that he would be wrapped up in.

He was broken from his thoughts, by a sudden scream, which rang through the night, echoing in his head. He sat bolt upright, listening as hard as he could. Far off in the distance, he could hear stifled moans of pain.

Albus stood up, shoving the cloak into the pocket of his jeans. He pulled his wand out of his back pocket, holding it by his side, still listening.

Another scream, quieter than the one previous but still as bone-chilling echoed from his left and he followed it, trying to move as quietly as possible.

Leaves and branches crunched under his feet as he walked, wide-eyed and alert, looking for the source of the screaming.

He was just passing Teddy's cabin when he heard the scream again and now certain that it was coming from the forest, broke into a run.

He just passed the door to Teddy's cabin, when it was thrown open and golden light from inside the cabin flooded the ground in front of him. Teddy's tall, muscular form ran out brandishing his wand like a sword.

"Albus!" He shouted, sounding surprised to find him there, "What's going on?"

Albus bounced on his feet, fighting the urge to run again. The screamer…they could be dead by the time he reached them.

"Screaming, over by the forest. Quick!" He panted, knowing his words barely made sense, Teddy however seemed to understand and nodded stiffly before setting off at a run, leading the way.

Albus followed Teddy, the light cast by their wand bobbing as they ran. As they ran, Albus noticed a crumbled figure lying eagle-spread on the ground at the edge of the forest.

He yelled to Teddy to notify him, before he ran for the figure with his wand raised. As he neared the figure, by the light of his wand he could make out school robes, and a Slytherin tie. His heart jolted when his wand light fell across a mop of honey coloured curls, matted with blood. He sunk to his knees.

"Lysander." He croaked his voice barely audible, "No….no no this can't happen."

He felt a movement and Teddy was kneeling beside him, his face pale, and his eyes anxious. Albus let his eyes survey the rest of Lysander and felt hot tears prick at his eyes.

His face alone looked like it had been mauled by a vicious animal, and his arms had been clawed and ripped, leaving long bloody gashes. Lysander stirred, and opened his eyes, which were barely visible behind the scarlet blood. Albus's eyes met his and Lysander's stared back. Albus felt something grip his hand, and looked down seeing Lysander's cold hand, sticky with his own blood, slip into his, squeezing it gently.

Albus felt his tears finally leave his eyes and begin to fall fast down his cheeks.

"What can we do?" He asked Teddy, who was muttered spells as he held his wand over one of Lysander's wounds. The wound however, was still spilling out blood. Albus watched as Teddy cursed under his breath.

"It's not working. We need to call for help. I-"

Teddy was cut off by the sound of rushing footsteps, and Albus looked up to see someone running towards them, slipping a little on the dew-covered grass.

Teddy turned too to see who it was, and held his wand up, the end of it lighting up.

"Who is it?" He yelled.

"It's me, Scorpius Malfoy. I heard screaming…wha-what happened?"

Albus felt his heart constrict painfully, as now even in shadow he instantly recognised the tall, lanky almost angular form of the boy he knew so well. Sentimental moments would have to wait, he decided as he turned back to Lysander, still holding his hand.

"Lysander Scamander has been attacked, Scorpius and I'm not sure exactly what attacked him. All I know is that he needs help. Fast." Teddy declared, his voice grave. "Scorpius I need you to inform the head of Slytherin house. Albus notify the Headmaster, and I will bring Mr Scamander up to the hospital wing."

Both boys jumped up and ran back to the castle. Albus turned back to watch as Teddy conjured a stretcher under Lysander, and stood up. The stretcher floated a few feet in the air behind him.

"Please Albus, go." Teddy begged more than ordered, looking at Albus pleadingly. Albus nodded, and turned away from Lysander, even though it pained him to do so, and took off at a run.

He caught up with Scorpius and the two boys ran together, not speaking but in mutual agreement that at least for tonight, they would set aside everything and work together.


	7. Chapter 6 Part Two

Albus swallowed back his tears and his hands tightened their hold on the cool, metal bars of the bed. He was vaguely aware that he was shaking slightly, wanting to look anywhere but the bed on which he was holding, but his eyes felt like they were glued to the scene.

Madam Abernathy re-appeared from her office, and Albus' head snapped up to look at her. Her face was pale and her eyes nervous as she leaned back over Lysander on the bed.

Lysander…

Albus took a sharp intake of breath. Lysander lay on the bed un-moving, with blood still oozing at a steady rate from various deep slashes on his face and neck. His green and silver tie was stained Gryffindor red and his robes were ripped and torn violently.

Teddy stood to his feet, and walked slowly over to join Albus by the bedside. He too looked extremely pale and drawn as he took in the sight in front of him.

"Do you have any idea what could have done this, Madam Abernathy?" He asked politely, but Albus could hear the way his voice shook. Lysander had always been a favourite student of Teddy's as he had a certain affinity for Care of Magical Creatures.

The woman shook her head; tears glistening in the corners of her eyes as she mumbled spells, holding her wand over each wound in turn, nothing seemed to work.

Her head suddenly snapped up, and Albus turned to see who she was staring at. There, walking through the doorway was Professor Goldthorn who was Potions master and Deputy Headmaster, and Professor Wolfe who was the Headmaster. The two men looked frantic. Professor Wolfe who usually had the air of being a jolly sort of person, who bounced everywhere smiling and joking had his brows furrowed as he marched purposefully in to the room.

Behind them, Scorpius Malfoy arrived with the head of Slytherin House, Professor Hodge who was the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher and a particular favourite of Albus'. He to, had an air of dread about him. Albus' stomach twisted painfully, this really was serious.

Scorpius came to a stop beside Albus, and the two stood side by side looking at Lysander's crimson soaked body in front of them, as the professors talked in low murmurs to Madam Abernathy. Albus felt like a wound up toy, why were they just standing around talking, when for all he knew, Lysander could be bleeding to death.

The doors to the hospital wing opened again, and Albus' heart leaped for a second for the boy who was strolling in looked exactly like Lysander. His heart gave a dull thud when he remembered that Lysander had an identical twin, Lorcan who was a Gryffindor.

Lorcan rushed over, throwing himself at the bed, his eyes opening wide. He looked like a terrified little boy as he stood there in his maroon and gold pyjamas, his hair tossed and ruffled from sleep.

"No. No." he repeated under his breath, sounding desperate. He reached forward and brushed Lysander's matted curls back off his forehead. Lorcan looked dangerously close to tears.

"Albus Potter, come with me." A low voice ordered, and Albus prised his hands off the bed, following the Headmaster out of the Hospital Wing.

The two did not speak as they walked, and Albus found himself watching the portraits that lined the walls as they whispered and mumbled, no doubt talking about Lysander.

Albus looked up and they were standing outside a rather large stone gargoyle. The Headmaster stopped, barely reaching halfway up the statue.

"Godric." He said, and the gargoyle moved aside, revealing a winding staircase. They both walked through and stood on the staircase, which started to move, as they stood on it. They reached a wooden door at the top of the staircase, and Professor Wolfe entered first, and Albus followed.

They entered a room that Albus knew was the headmaster's study but never had entered before, it was a large room with many interesting objects such as jars full of brightly coloured liquid and slimy things, and a small silver spinning top which sat on a little table. In the centre of the room, was a large dark ornate desk, which Professor Wolfe took a seat behind.

"Please, sit." He said, gesturing to the two red armchairs in front of the desk. Albus padded across the navy carpet and took a seat gingerly in one of the armchairs.

"Tea? Coffee? Pumpkin juice?" Professor Wolfe offered, smiling at Albus stiffly, and Albus could tell that his thoughts, like his own were down in the hospital wing.

"No thank you." He replied. He shuffled around in his seat, chewing his lip.

"I understand that you're worried, but Lysander is in good hands, trust me." Professor Wolfe spoke, his voice quiet. Albus looked up and saw him take a sip from a crystal glass, the golden liquid within the glass swirling.

"What happened to him, sir?" Albus asked.

Professor Wolfe sighed.

"I could ask you the same thing, Albus." He leaned forward in his seat, "You were the first on the scene?"

"Y-yes I was."

"What did you see?"

Albus took a breath and dived into as accurate a description as he could, from the scream that woke him until he had ran to fetch the Potions master with Scorpius.

When he was done, he let out a shaky breath and looked up at Professor Wolfe, who's brow was furrowed as if in intense concentration. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a voice from one of the portraits behind the desk.

"Joseph, have you considered a-"Began the voice of a man with a long silverly beard and twinkling eyes. His voice somehow held a calming effect, although at the same time Albus could detect an edge of worry.

"But that is impossible Albus; none of that kind of attacks have been reported for years!" Professor Wolfe answered, dismissing the idea.

"But there is always a possibility Joseph, if what you said earlier was true and the boys wounds are un-healed by spells." The man answered his voice still calm.

With a jolt, Albus realised that the man in the portrait was Albus Dumbledore. He was the very Professor Dumbledore who was his namesake, and who his father adored.

"What do you think, Severus?" Dumbledore asked and the portrait next to his, of a man with a curtain of greasy black hair and a sallow drawn face answered.

"It is plausible." He said in a long drawl.

"Excuse me, er…Professors but what exactly are you suggesting attacked Lysander?" Albus spoke, the top of his ears turning pink when all three fixed their gaze on him, seeming just to remember that he was there.

"A werewolf."

_No!_

Albus' heart constricted and he felt like he couldn't breathe. A werewolf. He felt like vomiting, imagining this huge beast jumping on to Lysander and ripping at him, its teeth covered in scarlet blood. The image swam in the front of his mind.

He opened his mouth to speak but found he couldn't.

"Of course, it's only a suggestion." Professor Wolfe added, shooting a strict glance at Dumbledore.

"It is likely Joseph we _did_ have a student who suffered from lycanthropy a number of years ago. Remus Lupin was his name."

_Lupin._

"Teddy Lupin's father?" Albus felt himself thinking aloud.

"Yes, that's him." Professor Wolfe and Dumbledore answered at the same time. Albus noticed that, through the conversation Professor Snape, seemed to be just observing, a look of boredom on his face.

Suddenly, there was a pounding knock on the office door.

"Enter." Said Professor Wolfe, and the door burst open, releaving a dishevelled looking Scorpius Malfoy.

"You're needed in the Hospital Wing, sir. Madam Abernathy wants to move him to St. Mungos." He said in a single breath. It was obvious that he had ran all the way, for he was panting. "His parents have arrived also, sir."

Professor Wolfe stood up abruptly, stepping around the desk.

"Please sit, help yourselves to some pumpkin juice and sandwiches boys, the night's events must have been exhausting. I will be back shortly." He said, before marching purposefully out of the office, and stepping onto the steps. There, he turned and flicked his wand, and goblets of bubbling, orange pumpkin juice and a silver platter of sandwiches appeared on the desk. He tipped his hat and the staircase began revolving and he was gone, leaving the two boys alone.

A silence fell over the two, only interrupted by the snores of the previous headmasters which echoes from the portraits around the room. Albus glanced up and saw that Professor Dumbledore and Professor Snape too were sleeping in their frames.

Reaching forward, his hand closed over a silver goblet and he lifted it to his lips, taking a sip of the sweet juice. He glanced at Scorpius out of the corner of his eye, and saw that he too had a goblet in his hand and had just taken a sandwich in the other.

"I do hope he is alright." He heard Scorpius say quietly, before Scorpius ducked behind his goblet and took a gulp of juice.

"Me too." Albus replied as he reached forward and helped himself to a sandwich. As his hands were about to reach the sandwich, Scorpius leaned forward to grab one, and his hand brushed his lightly, sending tiny electric sparks up both of their arms.

Albus' breath hitched in his throat.


	8. Chapter 7

Soon, the two boys sat in silence, having eaten their fill from the platters and drunk their way through countless goblets of pumpkin juice. Well, on Scorpius' hand that is, Albus had only nibbled and picked, his insides churning as his mind flashed with the images of the past few hours. He had however, under Scorpius' watchful glare at least tried to look like he was eating, so as not to be on the receiving end of a lecture.

Albus lowered his goblet, and stared mindlessly at a spidery crack on the wall behind the desk. His thoughts were plagued by worry. What if they couldn't fix Lysander up at St. Mungos? What if he was really attacked by a werewolf? What if he was dead? Why was Professor Wolfe taking so long?

He felt as though he was about to puke.

Suddenly, he felt something close over his shoulder, and craned his head back to see Scorpius' pale hand rubbing comforting circles on his shoulder. Looking over at the Scorpius, he managed to produce a small grimace of a smile. Scorpius smiled a sad, sympathetic smile back at him.

"Come here." Scorpius said, beckoning him over.

Albus stood up and shuffled over to squeeze on to the armchair beside Scorpius, who scooted over to make room, although it was still quite squashed. He pulled Albus gently onto his lap, and Albus rested his head on his shoulder, breathing in the familiar smell of peppermint. The smell was comforting, and slightly eased the tightness Albus had been feeling around his heart all evening. He forgot as well, about the problems between him and Scorpius. All he needed, and wanted was some form of comfort.

"He'll be okay, Al." Scorpius murmured, shifting slightly so they were both more comfortable.

"I hope so." Albus heard himself reply, but he didn't recognise his voice, which sounded so small and weak, his words laced with dread.

"You need to sleep." Scorpius sounded more authoritarian this time. Albus lifted his head to protest, but as if in answer he felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him, making it impossible to lift his head, instead he managed to barely stifle a yawn.

"I want you to sleep in the dormitories tonight, so you get a proper night's sleep." Scorpius ordered gently, "For your own good, I doubt…Lysander would want you ill. You look like death."

"I have been sleeping." Albus managed to mumble in response, feeling his eyelids drooping.

"I really care about you Albus." Scorpius said, and Albus felt his Adam's apple bob in his throat bob as he gulped, sounding vulnerable, "It hurts me seeing you this way. You look so…fragile...like you're made of glass and you could break at any moment. You need to eat more and sleep in a proper bed."

"Okay, I will." Albus mumbled, feeling too weak to protest.

Albus felt Scorpius' long fingers gently stroke his hair, and he didn't try to stop him. His eyes were closed now, but he wasn't asleep yet. He hadn't realised just how much he had missed the comfort of Scorpius' arms around him, in the last few months in which they had practically ignored each other. Of course, they still had to sort out their problems, but for tonight they could call a truce.

"I love you so much, Albus." He heard Scorpius say quietly, obviously assuming Albus asleep, "I don't know what I'd do without you."

Albus felt Scorpius' cold lips brush his forehead, and his arms tighten around him, holding him close. Albus fell instantly into a deep slumber, his head resting on Scorpius' shoulder.


	9. Chapter 8

_Author's Note Thing: Hi guys, really, really sorry for the massive lack of any updates in ages and I could feed you some dumb excuse about how busy I am but actually I'm just gonna be honest and say I forgot about this fic and I only remembered it now and yeah I'm definitely gonna be much more regular in my updates now. Next chapter should be up tomorrow or the day after. Xxx_

Albus sat cross-legged on the floor, a bottle of Firewhiskey in his hand. Of course, he wasn't old enough to drink Firewhiskey himself; he had slipped this bottle under his robes when Teddy's back was turned. This was an act which he wouldn't normally have done, under normal circumstances, but of course, these were no normal circumstances. Lysander had spent the last three weeks in St Mungos, and it had been confirmed that he had been attacked by a werewolf. Even the Healers didn't know if he was going to come out of it alive, his cuts were too deep, he had lost too much blood.

Albus closed his eyes, feeling a lump form in his throat. Slowly, he inhaled and exhaled, his mind flashing through images that turned his stomach. Lysander lying on the ground, the dirt around him stained scarlet with his blood, Lysander in the Hospital Wing his skin ghostly pale against the bright red slashes. His stomach lurched when he imagined what would happen if Lysander didn't come out of this, if he died.

Albus lifted the bottle of Firewhiskey to his lips, and took a long drink. The liquid burned the back of his throat, and tasted foul but he didn't care. All he wanted was to stop thinking for one night and to block out the memories of Lysander.

Suddenly, he heard the door open with a low creak and his eyes flew open in a panic. He hid the bottle under his robes, trying to work out what he would say if the person asked him why he was here. Would they even believe him? What if they could smell the alcohol off his breath, would he be sent home?

He swallowed nervously.

"Albus?"

Albus' eyes fell onto a person who was walking towards him. The figure was tall and lanky with blonde hair that curled at the ends. Albus' heart jumped into his mouth, and he glanced at the bottle of Firewhiskey. Was he so drunk that he was imagining things?

As the person drew nearer, Albus noticed the Gryffindor tie and his heart sunk. It wasn't Lysander.

"Hi Lorcan." He answered, feeling stupid that he had even imagined that the figure would be Lysander.

Lorcan sat down beside him, pulling his knees up to his chest and leaning against the wall.

Albus recovered the Firewhiskey and wordlessly passed it to Lorcan, who smiled weakly and took a long swig from the bottle.

"I'm glad I found you." Lorcan said, "You and Ly are so close."

Albus smiled, feeling a little nauseous as he thought of Scorpius. His time with Lysander had been much more public than his time with Scorpius, both wanting to keep their relationship as low-key as possible. Because of this, a lot of students thought that Lysander and Albus were in a relationship, and every time someone smiled sadly at him or mentioned it, he felt sick to the stomach.

"Yeah." Albus answered, his throat feeling dry.

Lorcan looked away for a moment, his eyes filling with tears.

"I just miss him so much." He croaked, a few tears slipping down his cheeks. "So much it hurts."

"I miss him too." Albus answered sincerely.

"I don't know what I'd do if he…if something really bad happened and he died, you know? I'd just fall apart." Lorcan continued, tears in full flow now, and his head in his hands making his words muffled.

"He'll come through this." Albus said, surprising himself with now sure he sounded, trying to pretend the same fears didn't haunt him.

Lorcan didn't answer for a minute, pausing to take a drink.

"I can only imagine how hard it is for you, I can't even think of how hard it would be if I lost Emily."

Lorcan's mouth tilted up at the edges just for a moment, as he thought about his girlfriend.

Albus licked his lips nervously, thinking of how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"He loves you." Lorcan said smiling. His smile seemed odd on his tear-streaked face. "I know so, he told me."

Albus stopped, his words dying on his tongue and smiled, his stomach turning.

"It's nice to talk to someone who cares about him." Lorcan continued, "You should come with me to visit him. He'd like that."

"Sure." Albus answered with a weak smile, his mouth drying up.

He reached for the bottle and took a mouthful, for lack of something to do.

"Thank you." Lorcan said, "I appreciate it."

With that he stood up, drying his eyes with the sleeves of his robes.

"I better head back, before James sends out a search party." Lorcan joked weakly, his smile faltering and fading again, "Goodbye Albus."

Albus smiled and nodded.

"Bye." He said, his voice raising an octave too high.

Albus waited until Lorcan left, before downing half the bottle at once, ignoring the burning of his throat.


End file.
